South Korea will promote its capital city of Seoul to Chinese consumers in a slate of new advertisements featuring K-Pop boy group BTS in a campaign broadcast at Mount Taishan — a sacred mountain in China where the Chinese philosopher Confucius reportedly coined the proverb “the world is small”.
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Surely Confucius, in all his wisdom, could not foresee how big K-Pop would be with brands looking to reach Chinese consumers.
The commercials will run from July to December at the UNESCO World Heritage site known for its Taoist temples and association with Confucius.
The ads will play across 10 screens in the park 57 times a day at mountain entrances and ticket offices, according to Newsis reports according to UPI.
An estimated eight million tourists visit Taishan annually with the bulk of those from the domestic market.
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The videos to be used are from a 2017 series called “BTS Life in Seoul” which was produced by American photographer Steve McCurry — who made a name for himself for the iconic 1985 National Geographic cover featuring “Afghan Girl.”
“We will try to get Chinese from all regions to visit Seoul,” Kim Tae-myung, director of Seoul’s tourism business division told Newsis.
The deal with China is part of an advertising exchange that will also see ads for Taishan tourism being run at key subway stations and at city hall in Seoul.
